Fight of Fancy
by That Was Real Subtle Bentley
Summary: In order to get into the Cooper Vault, they needed an expert RC pilot. They needed someone whose skills surpassed Bentley's. He finally broke ground when he stumbled across a user by the name of Air Heart Babe. Little did he know that user would change the turtle's life. [abandoned but will be rewritten - if interested check out Sly Cooper And The Amnesiac Tag-Along]
1. The Setup (Flight of Fancy)

_**Fight of Fancy**_ **\- Chapter 1 - The Setup ( _Flight of Fancy)_**

* * *

 **The Safehouse, Paris, France.**

I'm tapping away at my computer, prepared to see what this Air_Heart_Babe has to offer. It's taken me weeks to try to find a specialist, and so far, nothing.

I look at the screen. She says: "hey welcome to the RC tech chatroom! I'm Air_Heart_Babe, but you can call me Penelope."

I think about how I'm going to approach this. Friendly, for sure. Casual? Casual, I'm going to keep casual. I tap back, "howdy, I'm Bentley, a.k.a. Spex_guy."

Howdy... I never say 'howdy'... great start Bentley, great start. I follow up with: "so I've herd you're the expert on RC vehicles." And, recovery, we're back on track.

My computer beeps and I read her reply: "i been doin remote vehicle work since b4 I can remember! hehe :D". Perfect, chances are she's really experienced, and that's exactly what we're looking for! I type "that RULZ", because it really does, especially since it's taken so long to find her. I don't want to feel like a narcissist, but someone who's a better RC pilot than myself has to be a force to be reckoned with, completely unstoppable, incredible! She replies with a ":)", so I decide to ask, "would you be interested in a 'gig'?". Her response pops up. "i dunno... i don't useually freelance"

Okay, I can work this out. The Cooper Gang aren't a small-time outfit. We take serious jobs all the time. We're known worldwide, and Carmelita Fox won't stop chasing after us, ever. She's been dogging us for years after all. I type, "but surely as a ThiefNet member you've herd of me and my crew? we're notoriouus worldwide"

"haha that's what they all say LOL :P"

She's... she's playing it quite difficult. Looks like reputation alone won't do the trick. I decide to play this off with a simple "haha :D" to buy myself some time. I need to convince her that we aren't joking around, that we take everything we do seriously.

I type: "but I'm serious! in fact during 1 of our most daring jobs an interpol occifer told us we'd pulled more successful jobs than any1 in there computer! BOOOYAH"

'Occifer'... crud.

"sorry... I only werk for THE BEST... good luck on the big heist... er... 'gig' :)" she says, before logging off. Great, looks like this is going to need some thought. It was 'occifer' that messed that one up, wasn't it?

* * *

A few days later, my computer beeps at me. I look over. "hey spex_guy!"

Penelope!

"Sly! Murrary!" I yell. "Get in here, she's contacted me!" The two of them come bursting into my study.

"Any progress?" Sly asks.

"Well, she's said hi..." I murmur, "but she contacted me first, she must have reconsidered our offer."

"Hopefully." Sly replies. "Well, go on, message her back." He nudges me.

"Okay, reply, I can do that." I type "wasssssssssssup".

"Uh... Bentley?" Murray pipes up. "What was that supposed to be?"

"I'm trying to be friendly!" I cry.

"That was kinda dorky though." Sly laughs.

My computer beeps again. "Whatever," I start. "now be quiet, I need to concentrate on negotiations."

I read her reply: "mayB we can see what U and yer gang are made of?!"

Murray and Sly start cheering in the background. They seem to think she's in, but I'm not so sure. That 'the best' remark from the other day didn't sit right with me, maybe what she will suggest won't be as straightforward as we're hoping. I decide to see what she's thinking. I rattle off: "i'm listening..."

She explains herself in three lines. "The A.C.E.S competition is coming up! think your gang can manage to beat the B.B. at his own game? then maybe I'll know yer not just a pack of jokers... and worth my time hehe :)" And she logs off again.

"Guys..." I start, "she's in if we win ACES..." I can't believe it! "Now, let's get to work! Murray, you and I will be working to build a plane."

"Alright!" Murray exclaims.

Sly perches against the table with his arms folded. "So, if we're entering this competition, who's going to be our pilot?" he asks.

"That will be you as long as you can aquire a pilots' licence. Once you get that, I can sign us up."

Sly grins. "Oh, I don't think pilots will mind if I 'borrow' their licences." He says with a wink. He pauses, expression full of thought. "Just make sure you do a good job on that plane, I don't want it to suddenly explode on me at several thousand feet."

"I promise you, the plane will only blow up depending on the pilot's abilities. Make sure you actually dodge the incoming fire."

"Ha, very funny."

* * *

Once Murray and I finished the plane, I went to tell Penelope that we had a deal.

"OK it's on!" I type. "your challenge is accepted, we're on our way"

"REALLY?!" she replies. "good luck, your gonna need it!"

It occurs to me that I have no idea what this woman looks like. That certainly won't help when we finally meet and get her to join. So I ask, "BTW, you got a pic?" Nothing to lose here, plus the request makes sense.

She replies, "sure, uploading now" And after that, her display picture box sprung to life, slowly descending with the simple message of "Downloading, please wait..."

And there she is.

Penelope... she's _beautiful_! My heart does six somersaults in my chest! She has such a pretty face, with such a cute expression.

I'll admit it, I tweaked my profile picture a little bit... a lot... but I don't want her to think I'm a broken loser. This wheelchair cramps my style, and for the first time since being confined to it, I'm incredibly self-concious of it. I wish the sticky tape I used was a bit more obvious, I want her to see it's fake, but I also don't want her to either. I'm pretty indecisive about this chair. I feel like it's too late to back out of the lie. Well, that's just too bad, these things happen. I don't feel like I can confess that I'm a paraplegic, maybe that would cause her to retract her offer. And now, we're off to Holland to participate in a dogfighting competition.

* * *

 **So that was chapter 1 of a story I scrapped _years_ ago because I lost the motivation to continue for some reason. Hope you enjoyed, please follow and review if you did, as there's a lot more to follow! Cheers!**

 **Also Bentley and Penelope's typing, *cringe*, the use of 'there' and 'your' made me want to cry. Their chat text was taken straight from the _Flight of Fancy_ setup cutscene, word for word.**


	2. Hidden Flight Roster

**_Fight of Fancy_** **\- Chapter 2 - Hidden Flight Roster**

* * *

 **The Safehouse, Kinderdijk, Holland.  
**

So here we are, all set up in preparation for the ACES competition. Our plane is safely in its hangar, and fully operational. It's a miserable, rainy night. The cold wind whistles against the window panes, as if the elements are trying to remind me that I cannot escape them. We're set up in a hotel room, where all of the other pilots have been booked into as part of the competition. Booking into this specific hotel is one of the many rules of this competition. To avoid arousing suspicion, we've set up a way in and out of the safehouse via the balcony. It would look very bad if we kept leaving the hotel through the front entrance. It's not ideal, but it's all we have. It's a very basic room, with a couple of beds, a sofa, and a table which we moved into the middle of the room. Our window view has a clear view of the village, and we can see the many windmills located on the outskirts. I'm sure it's a pretty sight when it's bright and sunny outside.

I tell Sly to don his pilot disguise and head into the hotel lobby, where all the other competitors are, to which he complies, leaving through the main door of the room. Once he's in the lobby, my laptop beeps, meaning Sly is trying to contact me through his binocucom. I answer the comm, and say "If we're going to succeed in this year's ACES competition we'll need to learn who we're flying against."

"What, they keep the flight roster a secret?" Sly queries, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Correct," I reply, "in years past competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes in preparation for the next day's dogfight." Reading into the history of ACES was a grim experience. Landing gears were sawn off, opposing teams were poisoned, parachutes were stolen, it was unbelievable stuff. I hope the other teams don't try to pull anything on us.

"I get it, so now they keep the line-up a secret and no one knows who to mess with." Sly says, showing his understanding of the situation.

"Precisely." Hopefully this new arrangement would keep all sabotage at bay, at least, anything directed towards us. We only have one plane which was can't afford to lose. "Look Sly," I continue, "you're a good pilot but we've only got one plane... and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys." He'll be outmanned and outgunned, and I'm terrified for him. In addition to that, this is our one chance to win Penelope over, and I don't think we'll ever find anyone as talented as her. I doubt she'd give us a second chance, and I'm not thrilled with the idea of waiting around for next years' ACES.

"You know, normally I'd make some sarcastic remark about how 'overwhelmed I am by your confidence in me,' but those are some grim odds... and well, you know, I'm always up for some sabotage." Sly says with his usual devious confidence.

"Glad to hear it." I reply. "Now, the roster is kept secret from the pilots but not from the event staff."

"Do we have a mole on the inside?" Sly asks.

"Our 'friend' Dimitri has been hired to give colour commentary during the dogfights..." I reckon that'll be 'entertaining'. I still haven't recovered from Dimitri's phraseology when we confronted him in Paris. When he was fighting Sly, he came up with "show your bling and let me shine you." When Murray and I overheard this through our ear pieces, we couldn't stop laughing. We could only just muster the energy to open the doors of the tow truck we stole and slide out, only to roll about on the street, tears streaming down our faces. My diaphragm ached for the next day.

"He'll know where the roster's hidden." I continue. "Scout him out somewhere in the hotel lobby, but be careful... if you start a fight with the other pilots we'll be kicked out of the competition."

Sly raises his eyebrows with concern. "Sure, we all play nice until tomorrow, then we blow each other to bits at 300 feet." He remarks before hanging up, obviously to find Dimitri.

"Bentley, would you like a jelly bean?" I look up to see Murray with a big goofy grin on his face, extending his bag of jelly beans to me.

I smile back at him. "No thanks pal, they're all yours." He nods and returns to the bag, quietly chewing the jelly bean he just picked out.

My laptop rings out with Sly's voice: "Dimitri, funny seeing you here... never pegged you as a fly boy." Good, Sly's found him. I'll let him do his thing. I think about Penelope, with her slender figure, her flowing red dress, her long blonde hair. I feel a knot tighten in my stomach. I'm so nervous for when we meet. I've found that I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since she uploaded her picture.

I hear Sly mention art decryption, so I know I will be leaving the safehouse soon.

This whole thieving business has made it difficult for me to meet anyone. The brains with no looks status I'm stuck with has made it hard enough, and the wheelchair has added to this, but being a criminal was the last straw. Penelope, being on ThiefNet, is likely to not have a problem with my profession, and that's a start. Heck, she's willing to work with us. I barely know her, but I guess only time will tell.

I overhear the Black Baron's speech about the ACES rules, and how no one's allowed outside of the hotel after sunset. After he finishes his lecture, I chirp in Sly's ear, saying, "They don't lock the front door to the hotel, this isn't a jail. But you heard the Baron, once outside things'll get dangerous..." All of our jobs are risky, we could die, and we risk disqualification if we get caught.

* * *

I look out of the window and see Sly has exited the hotel.

"Careful partner," I warn, "the Baron's got plenty of guards on duty, and it's a long way up to his castle on the hill." I watch Sly's thief mask imager feed through my laptop, and see him travel through the village, narrowly avoiding the guards. Watching him navigate makes me sick to my stomach. He uses some climbing hooks embedded on the side of the hill to to reach the castle. Of course, the drawbridge is down, and I'll need Sly's assistance. I notify him of this, suggesting that there should be release lever at the top of the castle.

And with that, I check the fastening of my helmet, say goodbye to Murray, and head out onto the balcony, where the cold spray of the rain hits my face and settles on my glasses, making it difficult to see. I wheel through the village, clumsily dodging the guards and spotlights throughout. I can't go up the climbing hooks like Sly, so I head up the path that leads to the castle, only just avoiding the small rabbit guard patrolling there. I see the dark, looming castle, but I have no idea where Sly is.

"Psst, Sly..." I whisper. "Hey Sly!" I try again, but a little louder. "Sly are you up there?" Where could he have gone? Finally, his smug face emerges.

"Nope, sorry," he grins, "just us Black Baron goons." I don't have time for his joking around right now, if we get caught out here, we're in trouble!

"Throw the switch and lower the drawbridge so that I can get up there." I snap.

Sly quickly scans the top of the castle. "Sorry pal, I don't see a switch." He says while apologetically shrugging, much to my dismay. I don't believe it, this is already going to fall apart! Sly said he's no good at art decryption, previously stating it took him hours, and we don't have that sort of time!

"But... b-b-but, there just has to be switch." I stammer. "I can't get in the Baron's hangar from here."

"Hold on," Sly reassures, "I got an idea." And then he vanishes, only for a catapult to come flying from the castle, along with Sly's warning of "It's gonna fall." It lands perfectly.

"Medieval... but effective" is all I can muster. "Thanks pal." I say with a slight nod.

"Sure thing, see you back at the safehouse." Sly leaps down from the castle, while I get into position on the catapult. It launches me, with the wind violently whistling in my ears. I land on the roof with a heavy thud, the impact of which resonates through my wheelchair. I test the wheels, and they don't seem to be bent, thankfully. I wheel up to the entrance of the Black Baron's hangar, wait for the gate to open, and hastily scoot inside.

* * *

I gaze around the hangar. There are four planes inside. There are many workstations and tool boxes scattered about. There's also a lot of physical security; there are spotlights listlessly circling the room, and the floor is electrified. The Black Baron really has anticipated intruders. Able-bodied intruders, not wheelchair-bound turtles with jet boosters in his chair. I can easily glide between the planes. The electric flooring doesn't concern me.

Sly's voice crackles to life in my ear. "If Dimitri's intel is accurate, the flight roster should be locked behind one of the paintings in this hangar."

I spot a painting towards the left of the hangar, right at the back. I hop onto one of the closest planes, before springing off to the small work area near the painting. I look at the painting. It's of some old temple ruins. Crumbling, grey stone laced with thick, sturdy tree trunks wrapped with slick vines. I produce my magnifying glass and get to work, scanning the painting. I spot it pretty easily, as the code is written into some of the stone. I read 223. With that, I lift the painting up and twist the dials of the safe to show its code. I open the safe, and much to my disappointment, it's empty. Drat. I pocket the magnifying glass.

I leap onto the first plane I was on, then gracefully traverse onto the second, only just avoiding the spotlight, before boosting onto the third. I safely land near the second painting, and have a look at it.

It's a painting of a night-time jungle scene, with green vegetation. There are looming, purple mountains in the background. I get my magnifying glass out and take a closer look. This one takes me a little longer, but I only just manage to catch the tiny numbers of the safe combination on a bush in the middle of the painting. A second look also has the same code on one of the mountains towards the right-hand side of the painting. I conclude the Baron must be a bit stupid if this is the actual roster safe. The code is in the painting, twice! It's very sloppy security. I can make out the code, 510 (I have two parts of the painting that reveal this, after all). I raise the painting panel up and enter the combination. I open the safe, and much to my delight, the roster sits within. I pull it out, feeling victorious. My job here is done!

* * *

 **So that's chapter 2. Each chapter is going to be on a single job, so we've got some ways to go until Dead Men Tell No Tales, which was the starting point of the original story (if anyone even remembers it, like I say, was a long time ago). I was originally going to rewrite it from that point (and actually finish it), but decided to start when Penelope was introduced. Anyway, review and follow if you'd like, as I intend to continue this until the end of Sly 3. Might continue for a bit after that with any BentleyxPenelope fluff anyone wants, but if there are loads of requests for that, might start up a separate story for it instead.  
**

 **Also, since Bentley isn't permanently on the binocucom with his crew when they're on a job, that leaves time for converstations with the other gang members. Any requests or suggestions of what they might talk about/what they do are very welcome!**

 **Next chapter - Frame Team Iceland  
**

 **Cheers!**


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